Matches to Make After UFC on Fox 27

Nothing separates a man from his equilibrium quite like a shin to
the skull.

Former Strikeforce
champion Ronaldo
Souza swept away Derek
Brunson with a head kick and follow-up punches in the first
round of their
UFC on Fox 27 main event on Saturday at the Spectrum Center in
Charlotte, North Carolina. Referee Dan Miragliotta rescued a dazed
and confused Brunson 3:50 into Round 1, giving “Jacare” a 2-0 lead
in their head-to-head series; Souza had needed a mere 41 seconds to
knock out the three-time NCAA All-American wrestler under the
Strikeforce banner in 2012.

Brunson sought a home for his powerful left hand in the rematch but
connected on just eight of the 34 strikes he threw, according to
preliminary FightMetric data. He managed to deny Souza’s only
attempted takedown but moments later found himself stumbling across
the cage after being struck by the Brazilian’s Louisville Slugger
of a right leg. Brunson attempted to steady himself along the
fence, only to be met with an uppercut and a volley of left hooks
that prompted Miragliotta to act.

In the aftermath of UFC on 27 “Jacare vs. Brunson 2,” here are five
matches that ought to be made:

In his first appearance in roughly nine months, Souza handled his
business like a true professional. The two-time Abu Dhabi Combat
Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist showed
no signs of rust, as he improved to 8-2 in the UFC and held his
place in line at 185 pounds. While “Jacare” finds himself on the
outside looking in as it relates to the middleweight championship,
the 38-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt figures to draw
another marquee name his next time out. Weidman has not fought
since he submitted Kelvin
Gastelum with an arm-triangle choke at UFC on Fox 25 in
July.

While it was not without controversy, Fili nevertheless did enough
to eke out a split decision over Dennis
Bermudez in their three-round co-main event. The Team Alpha
Male standout surprised Bermudez with four takedowns in the first
two rounds and then withstood a late surge from “The Ultimate
Fighter 14” finalist. Fili, 27, has pieced together a modest
two-fight winning streak since his decision loss to Calvin
Kattar at UFC 214 six months ago. A former Absolute
Championship Berkut titleholder, Magomedsharipov has hit the ground
running in the UFC. The 26-year-old Dagestani wunderkind last
competed at UFC Fight Night 122 on Nov. 25, when he submitted
Sheymon da Silva Moraes with an anaconda choke.

Stock in Gillespie continues to skyrocket after the four-time NCAA
All-American wrestler moved his undefeated record to 11-0 by laying
waste to Jordan
Rinaldi with first-round punches in their lightweight showcase.
Since joining the UFC roster in 2016, “The Gift” has rattled off
consecutive victories against Rinaldi, Jason
Gonzalez, Andrew
Holbrook and Glaico
Franca. Only Franca survived to see the final bell. Long viewed
as a potential top-10 talent at 155 pounds, Gillespie has begun to
reach and perhaps even surpass those expectations. Vick and
Trinaldo will toe the line against one another at UFC Fight Night
126 on Feb. 18.

Green breathed new life into his career on the undercard, as he
picked up a unanimous decision over Roufusport’s Erik Koch and
netted his first victory in nearly four years. The former King of
the Cage champion dug himself an early hole before staging a rally
in the second and third rounds. Green, 31, now owns a 5-3-1 record
across nine appearances inside the Octagon and carries renewed job
security within a cutthroat lightweight division. Makhachev last
appeared on Jan. 20, when he knocked out Gleison
Tibau in the first round of their UFC 220 confrontation in
Boston.

Chookagian’s return to the women’s flyweight division -- her first
three fights in the UFC were contested at 135 pounds -- yielded the
results for which she had hoped. The former Cage Fury Fighting
Championships titleholder moved her career mark to 10-1 with a
unanimous decision over Italian upstart Mara
Romero Borella. Scores were 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27, all for
Chookagian. Clark ran her run of consecutive victories to three in
the UFC Fight Night 124 co-headliner on Jan. 14, sweeping the
scorecards from Paige
VanZant. Despite a 2-0 start in the UFC, the 30-year-old Aussie
continues to fly under the radar.